


Matchmakers

by MindlesslyDreaming13



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, Matchmaking, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 16:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16747849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindlesslyDreaming13/pseuds/MindlesslyDreaming13
Summary: Can Rory and Jess work together and play matchmakers? JavaJunkie, and a little Lit. Takes place in season 3. What if story. Originally written and posted on fanfic.net in 2006.





	1. That’s So Crazy, But It Just Might Work!

** Chapter 1- That’s So Crazy, But It Just Might Work! **

It was a Saturday night in February. Lorelai was sitting in front of the TV in her pajamas with a line of tapes on the floor with a big bowl of ice cream in her lap. The coffee table was full of bunch of crap from Doose’s Market.

          “Mom, I’m leaving.” Rory called out from the foyer while putting on her coat.

          “Have fun hun, at least one of us has a date tonight. Kirk’s right, I’m always going to be a spinster.”

          “Don’t worry mom, you’ll get back out there. See you later.”

          “See you, don’t do anything that I would do, but still have fun with Jess.”

          “Ok, I’m leaving now,” Rory rushed out the door.

          “Bye!” _Well I guess I’m all alone now. Yup, just me, my food, and Bill (the TV)._

**-X-**

**Diner at the same time**

          “Going out?” Luke asked Jess when he came down to the diner putting on his jacket.

          “Yeah with Rory,” Jess replied.

          Luke was counting the receipts. The diner was pretty empty for a Saturday night, just Kirk, nothing unusual.

          “Don’t be out late,” Luke told him.

          “Ok. What are you going to do all night?” Jess asked.

          “Nothing, I’ll close up, go up, and sleep. The same as I do every other night.”

          “You’ve got to get yourself a girl.”

         Just then Rory walked into the diner.

          “Hey,” she greeted Jess with a kiss.

          “Hey yourself,” she replied. “Should we go?”

          “Yeah, let’s.”

          They walked out of the diner. Jess automatically wrapped his arm around Rory.

          “So, how was your day?” Rory asked.

          “It’s great now that I’ve seen you. I worked at the diner most of the day. How about you?”

          “My day was good. I didn’t do much. I read a little, did some homework, paper stuff, watched my mom lay around in her pajamas all day watching movies, eating ice cream, and complaining about how Kirk said she was a spinster and will always be alone and stuff. You know I’m worried about her. She doesn’t date anymore.”

          “Luke’s the same way. He opens the diner, works at the diner, yells at me, continues to work, serves you and your mom coffee, yells at me some more, closes the diner, and goes to sleeps. He needs to get a life and a family.”

          “And you need to stop annoying Luke so he doesn’t have to yell at you and smack you up side the head even though it is very enjoyable to watch.”

          “I got an idea! How about we fix your mom and Luke up? They are perfect for each other. I know Luke is secretly in love with Lorelai.”

          “You can say the same thing about Kirk. He asked mom out on a date, but of course she rejected him.”

          “Poor guy. If she did say yes, Kirk would be your new daddy!”

           “Ha-ha very funny. I do like your idea though.”

          “What about Kirk being your new daddy? I was kidding,” Jess asked.

          “No about setting Luke and Lorelai up. We just need a plan. There is no way either of them will ask each other.”

          “I already know how. Come here,” Jess starts to whisper his idea into Rory’s ear.

          “That’s so crazy, but it just might work!” Rory exclaimed.

          “Ok tomorrow we’ll put our plan into action.”

          “Will do. Come on we’ll miss the movie.” They walked inside of Andrew’s Bookstore.

**-X-**

**TBC**


	2. Love is in the Air

** Chapter 2 – Love is in the Air  **

         The next day Lorelai was walking to Luke’s through the town. It was February and Valentine’s Day was a week and a half away. As she walked, she saw Rory and Jess taking a walk together holding each other’s hands. She saw Sookie give Jackson a kiss, and other Stars Hollow residents walking hand and hand through the snow frosted sidewalk.

          It was about 1:30pm when Lorelai walked into the diner. The diner was unusually empty for this time. Luke was wiping the counter with his infamous rag. The bell rang indicating that she walked into the diner. Luke looked up at the sound of the bell.

          “Coffee?” He asked, automatically.

          “Sure, why not?” Lorelai responded.

          He set a cup on the counter and poured coffee into it as she took a seat at her stool.

          “I hate February,” Lorelai said after taking a sip.

          “What‘s put you in this charming mood today?” He asked.

          “Love is in the air,” she pointed to the window and said. Luke looked out the window.

          “I see what you mean,” he agreed after noticing the coupled townspeople.

          “Everyone is always in love this time of year,” she said, her voice filled with a tinge of disgust. Then it softened, “I can never get a guy to stick around that long. I mean look at Rory, for the last two years there was Dean and now she has Jess. And I am just like Kirk. Alone,” she sadly admitted.

          “You’re not Kirk. Kirk lives with his mom and sleeps in _Power Ranger_ underwear with a _Spiderman_ blanket and _Batman_ sheets. I’m telling you you’re not Kirk. You’ll find someone soon.” _Or you can just wake up and see what’s in front of you, me._ Luke thought.

         “How do you know I don’t wear _Power Ranger_ underwear?” she teased.

         “Lorelai,” Luke warned.

          “I hope you’re right.”

          “You will.” Luke flashed her one of his rare smiles.

         “But I still hate Valentine’s Day.”

         “Great we can both hate it together and then you can help me kick Taylor out of the diner when he wants me to put up decorations and paint the diner pink.”

         “Cool!” Lorelai finished her coffee. “Well I have to go. I have a big day planned today to do nothing again.” She picked up her purse off the counter and headed towards the door.

         “Have fun,” Luke sarcastically replied.

         “Don’t worry, I will.” With that she left the diner.

          She met Rory outside the diner. They said goodbye to Jess and went on their way home.

          “So, I was thinking,” Rory started, “what are you doing tonight?”

          “Um, let me think…” Lorelai pretended to think hard. “Nothing,” she finally said.

          “Perfect! How would you like to go on a date?” Rory proposed.

          “Oh no, I hate blind dates. Last time I went on one, I got stuck with Jackson’s cousin Rune the loon. Don’t you remember?”

          “Come on, it won’t be that bad this time. I’ve seen this guy. He’s a friend of Jess, but he is a couple of years older than you. Might I add he is at least 3 to 5 inches taller than you with heels on. He’s a great guy.”

          “Do you know his name?” Lorelai asked,

          “Ah, I can’t remember his name, but I promise you won’t regret it,” Rory assured her mother and gave Lorelai the famous pout.

          “Ok fine. I’ll go,” Lorelai agreed.

          “Great, I’ll tell Jess and take you there tonight at seven.”

          “Ok, what should I wear; fancy, casual, or fancy-casual?” Lorelai asked.

          “Wear that black dress you bought last week,” Rory replied. “He’ll definitely love that.”

**-X-**

**TBC**


	3. Luke's Turn

** Chapter 3- Luke’s Turn **

Back at home Rory called Jess.

          “Hello?” Jess answered the phone, resting the book he was reading on his lap.

          “Hey Jess,” Rory replied.

          “Hey Rory, how did it go?”

          “She said yes,” she took him her voice full of excitement.

          “Great, phase one completed.”

          “Yeah, but now you have to convince Luke. How are you going to do that?”

         “Relax Rory, I got it covered,” he confidently told her.

         “Did you make the reservations? Did you talk to Caesar yet?”

          “The reservation is done and I was just about to go talk to Caesar when you called,” he told her.

          “So, we only have couple things to go before we have a successful phase two.”

          “Yup. I’ll talk to Luke and call you back in a half and hour.”

          “Ok, but don’t tell him that’s it’s my mom. I didn’t tell her that it was Luke,” Rory told him.

          “Ok, talk to you later,” Jess told her as he got up from the couch that he was sitting on.

          “Bye.”

          “Bye.”

          They both hung up. Jess folded his paperback book in his hand and shoved it in his back pocket and then headed out of the apartment. He walked into the diner and looked for Caesar while making sure Luke wasn’t nearby. He spotted Caesar delivering some plates to the table in the corner farthest away from the kitchen by the window.

          “Hey, Caesar,” Jess said, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

          “Yeah sure,” He replied while wiping his hand on his apron.

          “Could you close up tonight and open tomorrow morning?”

          "Yeah, I can do that,” he told him.

          “Great, thanks Caesar. I owe you. You can go now.” Caesar went back behind the counter. Jess went to the kitchen to talk to Luke who was cleaning the fryer.

          “Hey Luke?” he asked his uncle.

          “Yeah Jess, I’m working,” Luke stated.

          “What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

          “I have to work.” Luke replied.

          “No, you don’t. I’ll cover for you. I already talked to Caesar and he’ll close and open for you.”

          “Ok then, I’m guess I would then be doing nothing,” Luke stood up straight and told him.

          “Great, how about a date tonight?” he suggested.

          “Jess I’m not going out with a girl you set me up with,” he told his as he went back cleaning the fryer.

          “Luke, you need to get out of this stupid diner. You work all the time you need a break. That baseball cap is going to replace your head if you don’t take it off eventually and get out of the diner. Look, I’ve met the girl. She’s a few years younger than you, not to mention very pretty she is. I saw her and I thought of you, Uncle Luke,” he tried to convince him.

          “I told you it’s Luke,” he corrected then after a pause, asked, “what do she look like?”

          “She’s tall, leggy, brunette, blue eyes, very pretty. Trust me, you’ll like her,” he described.

          “Fine, I’ll go if it makes you happy.”

          “Hey, I am just looking out for my uncle. Here,” Jess reached into his pocket and handed him a slip of paper. “This is the restaurant and the reservations are under Mariano at 7:30 and please do us all a favor and lose the lumberjack look tonight.” He patted the older man on the back and left the kitchen.

 Luke looked down at the paper in his hand and sighed.

  **-X-**

**TBC**


	4. I Remember Rune the Loon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy June 3rd!

** Chapter 4- I Remember Rune the Loon **

“Rory!” Lorelai yelled downstairs from her room. “Where are my black strappy, stilettos?”

          “Huh?”

          “You know those shoes that are closed toed with the silver buckle?” she elaborated her description.

          “Oh, you mean _my_ black strappy closed toed stiletto with silver buckle?” Rory asked her.

         “Oh. Oops,” she winced as she remembered Rory buying the shoes. “Rory, sweetie, my favorite daughter in the whole wide world, can I borrow the black strappy, closed toed stilettos with the silver buckle please? I’ll be your best friend.”

          “I hope you don’t say that to all of your daughters,” she heard Rory say.  

          “Well you are my only daughter that I know of so is that a yes or a no?”

          “Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.”

          “Rooryyy!” She whined.

          “All right my favorite mother in the whole wide world, you may borrow the shoes.”

          “Great, can you bring them up here?”

          “Sure,” Rory said coming upstairs. “Here you go,” she said before dropping them by the door.

          “Thanks sweets.”

          “Mom, you look great!” Lorelai was wearing a knee length black velvet dress held together by spaghetti straps with a V-shaped neck.

          “Thank you.” She spun around in a circle like a model.

          “Hurry up; we have to be at the restaurant at 7:30.”

          “I’ll be down in a second.”

          Rory goes downstairs. A few minutes later, Lorelai comes downstairs.

          “Rory lets go.” Rory comes out of her room and drives Lorelai to the restaurant.

  **-X-**

  _-Meanwhile at the Restaurant_

          Luke got to the little, cozy Italian restaurant in Hartford at 7:30 on the dot. He nervously fidgeted his hand while he waited for the hostess to seat him.

          “Reservations?” the hostess finally asked after what felt like an eternity to Luke.

          “Yeah, Mariano,” Luke replied as he was directed to by Jess.

          “Right this way, sir.” The hostess led him to a booth in a quiet corner of the restaurant but wasn’t completely secluded from the rest of the restaurant. “Here you are,” she pointed and placed a menu at both side of the table.

          “Thank you,” Luke told her, and the hostess left.

          Luke settled in his seat; the side facing away from the main entrance. He picked up the wine list on the middle of the table. He figured reading through it couldn’t hurt. Maybe it’ll be better if he picked a wine for dinner instead of his usual beer. A few minutes passed and a waitress came up to him.

          “Would you like a drink as you wait?” she asked him, politely.

          “Yes, please white wine,” Luke said wanting to pick a better drink than beer to make a good impression. “And bring another for the lady.”

  **-X-**

        Rory dropped Lorelai off at the entrance to the restaurant.

        “Now the reservations are under Mariano. I’ll be at Luke’s if you need anything,” Rory told her mother as Lorelai got out of the careful to not wrinkle her dress.

        “Ok, bye Mom,” Lorelai joked as she closed the door. She waved goodbye and turned around to walk up to the restaurant.

          She pulled open the door where the hostess greeted her.

          “Reservations?” the hostess asked.

          “Mariano,” Lorelai replied as she nervously shifted where she was standing.

          “Right this way.” She followed the hostess to the table. “The other party has already been seated and is waiting for you,” the hostess told Lorelai.

          “Oh, well I hope it hasn’t been too long,” Lorelai said, nervously.

          When they got to the table, Lorelai saw a man with his head buried in his menu.

          “Here’s your table,” the hostess said. “Enjoy,” The hostess added and left.

          The man looked up from the menu, lowering the menu to reveal his face.

          "Lorelai?” the man said.

 _‘Well, he was right about the women being a tall brunette leggy with blue eyes.’_ Luke thought.

          Lorelai’s eye widened. “Oh my god, Luke, what are you doing here?”

          “I can ask you the same thing,” he asked, equally surprised.

          “Rory said I was supposed to meet someone, a friend of-” Lorelai finally sat down and began laughing hard.

          “Lorelai what’s so funny?” Luke asked as Lorelai continued to laugh.

          “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before. I’ve been thinking, who this guy that _both_ Rory and Jess could set me up with was. I mean who could they possibly know without ever leaving Stars Hollow. But it never occurred to me that it could be you,” he explained.

          “And you think this is all funny?” Luke asked.

          “I’m just so happy I didn’t get set up with another Rune,” Lorelai admitted.

          “Are you talking about ‘Rune the Loon’ Rune as in ‘Jackson’s cousin from out of town’ Rune? The one you wanted an anvil for?” Luke asked, recalling their conversation from that night a couple years ago.

          “You know other people named Rune? Of, course him! The guy I went out with only because I knew I couldn’t let Sookie and Jackson down. At the end he ended up leaving and I played Five Card Draw with you oh and they Mrs. Kim ran in. Wow, I have a good memory.”

         “Well that was an unforgettable night.”

         “Yes, it was,” she agreed.

         “What was Rune’s problem again? Luke asked as the waiter brought two glasses and poured the wine that he had ordered into them.

         Lorelai took a sip, “Mmmhh, this is good. Apparently, I was too tall for him.”

         Luke started cracking up.

        “How’s that so funny?” Lorelai asked.

        Luke couldn’t help it and kept laughing, trying to catch his breath. “You’re too short for me,” he finally spat out and continued laughing.

       “Ha-ha, very funny,” Lorelai frowned, not finding it very funny.

        “I’m sorry I couldn’t help it,” he told her when he stopped laughing.

        “Well Rune is long gone and that’s all that matters. So, what are we going to do with the issue?” Lorelai said pointing between the two of them.

       “What are we supposed to do about what?”

       “Well, Rory lied to me to get me here. That’s a problem. I’m guessing you were lied to too?”

       “Jess technically didn’t lie to me,” Luke shifted uncomfortable as he admitted.

       “He told you that you were going on date with me?” Lorelai asked.

       “Not per say. He just didn’t tell me who it was. He described you right, that’s for sure.”

       “Well I guess they played _The Parent Trap_ card on us.”

       “The what?” Luke questioned.

       “Oh, please don’t tell me you haven’t seen _The_ _Parent Trap?”_

       “I can’t say I have,” Luke told her.

        Lorelai recounted the story of _The Parent Trap_ to Luke.

      “So, what do we do?” Lorelai asked. “Do we stay and eat, or just leave.”

      “Let’s stay. They did go through a lot of trouble to get us here and all. Rory had to lie to you to get you here. That had to have been hard for her to do,” Luke pointed out.  

      Lorelai nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I guess we should stay then.” She picked up the menu and began to search for something to eat.

  **-X-**


	5. A Night to Remember

** Chapter 5- A Night to Remember **

_-Diner 8:30ish-_

          Rory was sitting at a table eating pie and doing some homework. The diner was empty except for a couple stragglers. Caesar was in the kitchen and Jess was covering the counter.

          “Jess, can I have some coffee?” Kirk asked.

          Jess poured coffee in a mug and placed it in front of Kirk.

          “Is this caffeinated?” he asked.

          Jess looked confused and replied, “Yes, it is Kirk. It’s coffee how else is it supposed to be?”

          “A quarter caffeinated, three-fourths decaf,” Kirk explained.

         “Whatever, Kirk,” Jess ignored him and walked away.

           “Wait, what about my coffee?” Kirk asked.

           “I gave it to you already,” he told him and he walked over to Rory.

          “Well, mother isn’t going to be pleased with me tonight,” Kirk said before he took a sip.

           Jess sat down next to Rory.

           “Do you think my mom is going to be mad at me after tonight?” Rory asked, worried.

           “Why would she be mad at you?” Jess countered.

           “Well, I lied to her. Plus, the whole tricking her thing. I kind of feel bad,” Rory admitted taking a bite of her pie from her fork.

           “I doubt it. All I know is Luke is going to thank me. Maybe not tonight but he will someday. He’s going to be mad. I’ve been here for a year and I’ve got a Gilmore girl, and the poor guy has been pining over Lorelai for what like 7 or 8 years?”

           “Yeah, well just to give you a heads up, I see you getting smacked upside the head in your near future.” They both laughed.

           “Let’s go upstairs. We can watch some TV,” Jess suggested.

  **-X-**

_-Meanwhile in Hartford_

 Luke and Lorelai were both laughing as they ate dinner. Lorelai realized that grumpy Luke was laughing and smiling too while sharing stories of their lives.

           “You know, you should smile and laugh more often,” Lorelai suggested.

           “Yeah?” Luke looked up at her.

           “You should take a break from being grumpy every now and then. All you need is a pickax and you’ll fit in with the other 6 dwarfs.”

           “You just lost me,” Luke admitted.

           “I’m referring to _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_. There are 7 dwarfs, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, Sleepy and my personal favorite, Dopey. You do a great impersonation of Grumpy. They’re cousins! Identical cousins!” she sang.

            “No, I am not,” he firmly told her. “Isn’t that a kid’s movies?”

           “Never mind,” Lorelai dismissed and continued. “My point is that it’s nice to see you smile and laugh.”

           “Ok. Uh, thanks.”

           “Hey Luke, do you remember the first time we met?” Lorelai asked.

           “Yeah I do,” a faint smile appeared on his face involuntarily as he recalled the day. “It was in the middle of the lunch rush and this woman came in the diner in a caffeine frenzy. She came up to me and asked for coffee. I told her to wait her turn. She waited impatiently for a minute and then began following me around. I told her I’ll get to her when I get to her. She then went over to a man with a newspaper and asked to take a section of it. She came up to me again and asked me for my birthday. I didn’t tell her at first, but she wouldn’t leave me alone. Finally, I gave in and told her my birthday. She opened to the horoscope page and ripped out my horoscope. Then she took my pen from me while I was taking an order and scribbled something on it and gave it to me. It read, ‘You’ll meet an annoying woman today. Give here coffee and she’ll go away.’ She told me to keep it in my wallet and one day it’ll bring me luck.”

           “Wow, I can’t believe you remembered,” Lorelai blushed.

           “Here,” Luke said, as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet, “let me show you something.” He pulled out an old scrappy paper and handed it to her.

           “You kept this in your wallet? You kept this in your wallet for seven years?” She asked his, staring at her handwriting from years ago.

           “Yup, you’re just lucky I never clean out my wallet,” Luke joked.

           Just then the waiter came up to the table with the check. Lorelai reached into her purse for money.

            “No wait,” Luke stopped her, “I got this.”

           “Are you sure because-” Lorelai began.

           He placed his hand over hers and said, “I would really like to, Lorelai.”

           “Ok,” she said, her eyes meeting his, their gaze held for a while.

           He pulled out some cash with enough to leave a tip and placed it in the check holder. After they put on their coats, Lorelai took out her cell phone.

           “Hey, Luke?”

           “Yeah?”

           “Could you give me a ride? Rory’s not picking up her cell phone. She must have gone to bed already.”

           “Yeah, sure. Not like we aren’t going to the same place,” he agreed.

           The both left the restaurant and took a short walk to Luke’s truck. The ride back to Stars Hollow was quiet.

           _‘Wow this is Luke. I had dinner with Luke. I had a good time with Luke. My best friend Luke is hot and sexy without the flannel and baseball cap. And his hair- whoa Lorelai don’t get ahead of yourself. You don’t have feelings for Luke. Hmm, I wonder what is under all those layers he normally wears. Stop it, Lorelai. Wait, maybe I do have feelings for him. Even if I do, does he feel the same? It feels like it, but I don’t know. What if the town’s right and he does?’_ she thought.

           “Hey, Luke, I was wondering,” Lorelai broke the silence, “was this a date? I mean it felt like one.”

           “If you want it to be, fine. If you don’t want it to be, fine,” he replied.

           “What if I say I want it to be?” She flirted.

           “Well, then I say I am glad.” They both smiled as each other for a quick second before Luke put it his eyes back on the road in front of him.

           Five minutes later, they were at Lorelai’s house. Luke got out and went to the other side to open Lorelai’s door. He walked her to the porch.

           “I had a surprisingly great time tonight,” Luke shared.

           “I did too,” Lorelai replied.

           “We should do it again sometime,” he suggested.

           “Yeah, I would like that,” she smiled.

           Before they knew it, they both were leaning in for a kiss. Their lips met for a quick second and then they pulled a part only to find themselves leaning in again. This time when their lips met, they remained together. The kiss deepened, full of passion built up from the last 7 years. Neither one of them wanted to pull away but the need for oxygen came in the way.  

           “Wow.” Lorelai said when they broke apart.

           “You could say that again,” he whispered and added a small peck on her lips.

           “Ok, wow.” They both let out a little laugh.

           “Goodnight,” Luke told her in that sexy gruff voice of his.

           “Goodnight,” Lorelai softly repeated.

           Lorelai went inside the house in a daze. Luke walked back to his truck with a grin.

_‘Wow, Luke kissed me’_

_‘I just kissed Lorelai Gilmore’_

           “Rory? Hun?” Lorelai called out while taking off her shoes. There was no answer.

           “Rory?” she checked her room, but it was empty.

           She checked the bathroom, not there. She ran upstairs, but saw no sign of Rory anywhere. A rush of panic fell over her. She picked up the phone and called Rory’s cell. No answer still. Not knowing what else to do, she dialed the number for the diner.

           At that very moment, Luke walked into the diner. The phone rang.

           “Hello?” Luke answered.

           “Oh Luke, is Rory there? She’s not home and she’s not picking up here phone. I remembered her telling-”

           “Lorelai calm down. She’s not down here but she maybe upstairs,” Luke told her after hearing how frantic she sounded on the phone.

           “Upstairs, alone with Jess in your apartment?!?! Do you know what happened when I was her age and left alone with my boyfriend? The proof is Rory, the missing girl herself!

           “Calm down, everything will be ok. I’ll call you back from upstairs,” he told her.

           “Ok. You’ll call me back the second you get upstairs?” she asked to confirm.

           “Yes,” he sincerely said.

           She hung up. Luke ran upstairs and busted through the door.

           “JESS!” He yelled.

           “Shhhh,” Jess quietly pointed to Rory’s head on his lap. Jess was sitting in the couch reading a book while Rory lay, fast asleep across the rest of the couch.

           “Jess?”

           “We were watching TV and she fell asleep,” Jess explained.

           Luke had an “I’m not buying this” face on.

           “Ok, we were making out for a while, until the making out turning into something more. We put our clothes back on to watch TV and she fell asleep. Is that what you want to hear?” Luke frowned. “I swear nothing happened.”

           “Alright,” He picked up the phone and dialed Lorelai’s number.

           “Luke?”

           “Hey Lorelai, Rory’s here.”

           “She’s there? Put her on the phone, she has some major explaining to do.”

           “Lorelai relax they were watching TV and Rory feel asleep. It was innocent.”

           “Are you sure?”

           “Yes, do you want me to wake her up and send her back home?” Luke asked.

           “No, let her sleep. She hasn’t been getting much sleep lately; last semester of senior year,” She explained.

           “Ok then,” Luke said as he looked over to Rory.

           “I’ll pick her up tomorrow morning,” Lorelai told him.

           “See you then,” he told her.

           “Yeah, and Luke? Thank you.” She said before she hung up causing Luke to smile.

           “You’re welcome,” Jess said with a smug look on his face.

           Luke went over to Jess and smacked him upside the head.

           “Rory said you would do that,” Jess told him.

           “Rory’s smart girl.”

           “Come on, aren’t you happy that we set you up with each other? Gave you guys a little push?”

           “Oh, that was you who did that?” Luke joked.

           “Oh, come on you kissed her, didn’t you? Her lipstick is smudged on your face,” Jess pointed.

           Luke hand immediately went to his mouth and began to wipe away the lipstick, unsuccessfully.

           “See we are all happy now,” Jess told him.

          Luke went to a closet to get a blanket. “Here, put this over her, and go to bed,” he threw the blanket at him. “No funny business,” Luke sternly told him.

**-X-**

**TBC**


	6. Win A Date with Tad Hamilton

** Chapter 6- Win a Date with Tad Hamilton **

Rory got up the next morning, disoriented to her surroundings. She saw on the VCR player that it was about 5:45AM and she sprung up like a poptart coming out of a toaster.

               _“I’m in Luke’s apartment!”_ she thought. She saw Luke sitting at a table in his kitchen sipping on some tea. He looked over to Rory.

               “Hey, good morning,” Luke greeted.

               “Good morning. I’m sorry. I guess I feel asleep,” she told him in an attempt to explain, rubbing her eyes awake.

               “Yup. You fell asleep when you were here last night with Jess while your mom and I were out,” he told her.

               “Oh, about that, I’m really sorry but we had to do something.”

               “Rory, it is ok, but I don’t know how easily you will get off the hook with you mom.”

               “Yeah, I did some fib telling which is not like me at all. I guess I’ll head home now and face the music,” Rory said as she grabbed her coat. “Bye Luke, thank you.”

               “Bye.”

**-X-**

Rory quietly crept into the house closed the door behind her. She went upstairs to see Lorelai fast asleep. She walked back downstairs again to her room and decided to get ready for school.

               Lorelai came down in her pajamas to the smell of coffee. She walked into the kitchen to see Rory sitting at the table in her Chilton uniform reading a book with a cup of coffee on the table.

              “Hey Sweets, when did you get home?” Lorelai casually asked as she went over to the coffee maker to pour her own coffee.

               “Oh, umm about an hour ago, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just got ready. Since I still have about an hour till my bus, I thought I would read a book, “she rambled quickly. Lorelai gave her a stern look and she cracked, “I’m sorry mom! For everything! The lying, the deceit, and the not coming home last night, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have done that. And because I did, I’m punishing myself for four weeks. No wait, two months. No, I lied to my mother, six months without Jess or the TV or the phone. It’ll be school, straight home and then studying.”

              “Sweetie, please stop punishing yourself. It’s ok, just don’t do it again,” Lorelai said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

              “Well I’m very very very very sorry. It was all Jess’ idea, and I, the stupid girl that I am, went along with it all,” Rory continued to feel bad about her behavior.

               “I could perfectly tell it wasn’t your own doing. So, please stop killing yourself. I kind of freaked out a little more than I should have last night with the lying and the not coming home. I’m ok now,” Lorelai admitted in hopes to make her daughter feel better.

               “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I made you sit through a dinner with Luke. You guys can’t even go a minute in the diner without fighting,” Rory pointed out. “How about I get you coffee whenever you want with the promise that I’ll never ever set you up again especially with Luke,” Rory continued to apologize.

               “Rory!” Lorelai exclaimed.

               “What?” She looked up at her mom.

               “Shut up so I can tell you about my date last night!” Lorelai told her with huge grin on her face.

               “Oh my god! Something happened, right?” Rory asked to confirm the look on her mother’s face.

               “Well you dropped me off and I went in to find Luke sitting at a table which apparently happened to be my table too. Then we talked about how we’d been _Parent Trap_ -ed, and the resulting punishment. After that we ordered our food and we started talking about our pathetic lives and we laughed a lot. So, I told him that he should laugh and smile more often because it looked good on him. Can you imagine that? Luke laughing and smiling? Then, I asked him if he remember the first time we met. He remembered everything. You’d think he’s a guy who doesn’t find these things significant, but not Luke. I was shocked. He insisted on paying for the dinner and then drove me home. In the car I ask him if it was a date. He left it up to me. Since it felt like one, I told him it was a date. When we got home, he walked me to the door and told me he had a good time. Before I knew it, we were holding each other while we kissed. It was the perfect night except for what happened afterwards it was.”

               “What happened after?” Rory asked, completely engulf the story.

               “Well you went AWOL and I had a minor freak out,” she reminded her.

               “Did I mention how sorry I am about that? I ruined your perfect night.”

               “Aww, you didn’t ruin my night,” Lorelai said, unconvincingly.

               “Luke’s a great guy. Don’t wreck it. He’s been madly in love with you,” Rory advised her.

               “I know, he kept the horoscope.” Lorelai smiled.

               Rory’s brow furrowed. “What horoscope?” she asked. 

               “I’ll tell you about it later.”

               “Mom go get ready, I’m hungry we have time to go to Luke’s if you hurry,” Rory informed her as if dangling a carrot in front of a horse.

               “Ooh ok!” She excitedly jumped. _‘Oh my god, we are going to Luke’s! This means Luke will be there with his sexy flannel and hat. Ooh, I like the thought of that!’ she thought._

               When she didn’t move, Rory said, “Mom, stop thinking about him.”

               “I can’t help it.” She turned around to go upstairs to get dressed.

               Twenty minutes later, Lorelai came down wearing a black knee length skirt with a light pink blouse and matching pumps.

               “Let’s go!” Lorelai quickly grabbed her purse while pulling Rory off the couch with her other arm.

               They both ran out the door.

  **-X-**

              Luke’s was a busy with the morning rush in full swing. Jess was helping around bringing and taking orders. The bell above the door jingled as the Gilmore girls walked in. Jess walked over to Rory and gave her a good morning peck on the lips. Rory and Lorelai took a seat at the empty table by the window. In the process, Lorelai tripped over a chair, catching her balance by grabbing the table.

               “That was graceful. You should be a ballerina,” Rory sarcastically giggled.

               “You’ve been hanging around Jess just a little too much,” Lorelai replied just as Luke walked up to them.

               “Coffee?” he asked.

               “Coffee would be great, thanks,” Lorelai replied before he finished the word “coffee”.

               Luke poured coffee into the two mugs the already sat on the table.

               “Luke, can I talk to you for a second?” Lorelai asked him.

               He hesitated before he replied, “Um, sure. Upstairs good?”

               “Yeah, lead the way,” she got up from seat she had occupied a few seconds before. “I’ll be right back,” she told Rory.

               “Jess, I am upstairs for a sec,” he yelled to Jess before they disappeared behind the curtain.

               “What do you suppose she wants?” Jess asked Rory.

               “My guess would be her ‘good morning, sweetie’ kiss,” Rory concluded, knowingly.

 

**-X-**

_-Luke’s Apartment-_

               “Lorelai what do you want? I have a diner to run-” he was interrupted with Lorelai pushing her lips against his.  He deepened the kiss as Lorelai put her arms around Luke’s neck and immediately began exploring his body. Luke put his hands around Lorelai waist, supporting her up. They reluctantly pull away in need of air a few minutes later.

              “That’s what I wanted,” Lorelai replied with a huge grin.

              Luke smiled back, “good morning.”

              “Good morning.” They stayed in each other’s arms for a minute.

              “What are you doing tonight?” Luke asked.

              “Well, I was hoping to win a date with Tad Hamilton,” she joked.

              “Who?” Luke asked, confused.

              “Luke, watch some movies, will you?”

              “I should have known. So about tonight, you free?” he asked again.

              “Yes, I am.”

              “Do you want to catch a movie and have dinner with me?”

              “I guess I can settle for you. You ain’t no Tad Hamilton, but we’ll see about that,” she flirted.

              With the reference still lost on him, Luke continued, “Pick you up at seven?”

              “Sure, wait Babette?” Lorelai suddenly said.

              “What about Babette?” He pulled back to look at her while they

              “She’ll see us. Do you want the whole town to know now? Because if you do, I’ll be fine with that, but is it too soon?” Lorelai quickly shared her worry.

              “How about when they find out, it’s out? We’ll play it by ear,” Luke told her.

              “I like that,” Lorelai agreed.

              “Can I still pick you up at seven?” He asked to confirm.

              “Yes, you can. What do you want me to wear?” She asked, innocently.

              “Hmm...” A wicked grin appeared on Luke’s face.

              “Something that I can wear in public,” Lorelai corrected with a blush.

              “Something sexy,” he told her in his deep low voice.

              “Consider it done,” Lorelai leaned up to give Luke a soft peck on the lips.

               “It feels good to be able to do that,” he told her.  

               When Luke and Lorelai came down, they had the biggest smile on their faces. Lorelai walked back to her table with one last glance back at Luke who has quickly gotten back into his usual diner routine.

               “Did you do something slutty?” Rory asked.

               “Not yet but eventually I will,” Lorelai told her.

               “Oh goody!” she said sardonically.

               “Well, I do have a date with a certain diner owner. A sweet and very hot one too.”

               “I would love to chat right now, but I can see my bus. I will see you later,” Rory said, happy to make her escape.

               “Bye Hun.” Lorelai finished the rest of Rory’s breakfast. She gave Luke a smile as she paid for their breakfast and left the diner.

**-X-**

**TBC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the chapter title, I am sure you can tell when this was original written. Lol Thanks for reading! Rest of the story coming soon!


	7. Meet the Parents

** Chapter 7- Meet the Parents **

               Lorelai was in a daze for the rest of the day. All she could to do was think about Luke and their date tonight. She was sitting in the inn’s kitchen drinking coffee supposedly listening to Sookie.

               “Lorelai? Earth to Lorelai? Lorelai? The coffee’s running away! Lorelai? LORELAI!” Sookie screamed while waving her hand in front of her face, trying to get Lorelai’s attention.

               “Sorry Sookie. I’m back!” she apologized.

               “Lorelai what world are you in? You’re walking around the inn with a dreamy smile. Michel insulted you and you didn’t do or say anything back,” Sookie pointed out, her voice full of concern.

               “It’s nothing, really,” she brushed off.

               “It’s a guy, I know it!” Sookie concluded excitedly. “You have that smile. Oh, who is it? Do I know him? What is he like? I bet he is fine or else wouldn’t be like this. Tell me tell me!” She begged.  

               “Sook chill out. I’ll tell you only if you promise not to tell anyone yet. Not even Jackson.”

               “All right, I promise, now please tell me, the suspense is killing me.”

               “It’s, um, it’s Luke,” she revealed to her friend.

               Sookie’s eyes grew bigger and she exclaimed, “It’s Luke! Oh my god! It’s Luke!” The spoon in her hand splattered the batter all over the kitchen as she waved it around and leaped to give Lorelai a big hug. “You two finally saw it! Oh, it’s Luke. It’s Luke! When did this happen? Oh, was it on top of a table?”

               Lorelai’s eyes widen. “Sookie, slow down there! What was on top of a table?”

               “You know, it,” she shyly said, raising her eyebrow.

               “There was no sex Sookie. it just happened last night. Jess and Rory played matchmakers/ Parent trap. They sent me and Luke on a blind date with each other. Well we had a good time and then her drove me home. He walked me to my porch. Then,” she hesitated as a dreamy smile appeared on her face, “he kissed me.”

               “Oh, how romantic!” Sookie gushed.

               “Which part? How I was set up by my seventeen-year-old daughter and her boyfriend?” she joked.

               “I don’t know. Just you two together is romantic. You guys have been dancing around each other for years and now.”

               “Yeah,” Lorelai stared out in space again.

               “What kind of kiss was it? Was it a peck on the cheek? Lips?”

               “It was a deep passionate kiss on the lips.” She smiled remembering it. “We have a date tonight! What time is it?” Lorelai anxiously asked.

               “3:15.”

               “Only 3 hours and 45 minutes till I see him,” she giggled.

               “Wow, you’ve got it bad.”

  **-X-**

               It was now six and Lorelai ran up the stairs. She rushed around the room looking for something to wear. Keeping in mind what she thought Luke would like on her.

               An hour later, Lorelai settled for a pair of nice form fitting jeans and a low-cut V neck blue blouse that she wore with black ankle boots. She quickly put some makeup on, hoping Luke wouldn’t be on time considering it was 6:59pm. At 7:10pm the doorbell rang. Lorelai climbed down the stairs.

               “I’m coming!” She tripped on a step. “AH!” she yelped.

               “Lorelai are you ok?” Luke called from outside, concerned.

                Lorelai got up from the floor and ran to the door to open it. “Sorry, yeah I’m fine. I just had a little mishap and tripped,” she told him as she brought a hand to back to rub it.

               “Are you sure you’re ok?” Luke asked again.

               “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she waved off. “Come on in. I have to get my coat,” she invited him in.

               “Ok.” Luke stepped into the house. Lorelai grabbed her coat from a chair.

              “Come on, let’s go.” They walked to his truck.

               “You look nice.” Luke told Lorelai as he opened the door for her.

               “Thanks, you don’t look bad yourself,” Lorelai returned the compliment as she got in.

               Luke walked over to the other side and got in. As he was backing out, he asked, “How was your day?”

               “It was good and sadly I have no funny Michel story to share today. How about you? How was your day?”

               “My day is good. Kirk wanted his sandwich cut in stars today,” he shared.

               “Ah, good choice, Kirk. So where are we going?” she impatiently asked.

               “You’ll see soon,” he told her.

               “Come on Lukey, please tell me!”

               “You’ll find out when we get there.”

               “Fine, be like that.” She pouted the rest of the way there.

               They got to a little restaurant 15 minutes later. They walked inside and were greeted by a sweet old lady.

               “Oh, hello Lucas, it’s good to see you!” The lady said as she gave Lucas a hug.

               “Hello Maisy, it’s good to see you too. This is Lorelai,” he introduced.

               “Oh my, this is the Lorelai you always talk about,” Luke blushed. “Lucas nice choice,” Maisy turns to Lorelai and said, “He never brings his girls here. You must be special.”

               “I hope so.” Lorelai replied with a smile.

               “Let me take you to your table.” Maisy lead them to a booth.

               “Here we are. I’ll be right back. I’ll go get some champagne for you two,” Maisy excitedly told them and ran off in the direction of the kitchen.

               “She knows you!” Lorelai exclaimed while pointing her finger at him. “Come here often?” she asked.

               “Actually, I come here a lot. Whenever I get the chance, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I’ve known Maisy and her husband, Buddy my whole life. They were my parents’ best friends. They are like parents to me now. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to open the diner,” Luke revealed.

              Before Lorelai had a chance to respond, an older man came out from the kitchen and greeted, “Lucas, it’s great to see you.”

               “Great to see you too, Buddy.” Luke got up to give him a hug.

               “And who is this beautiful young lady you have with you, Lucas?”

               “This is Lorelai,” Luke introduced.

               “Hello Lorelai,” He shook her hand that she offered.

               “Hi Buddy, nice to meet you,” she replied.

               “Lucas has told us so much about you and your daughter,” Buddy told her.

               “Well it’s nice to be mentioned.”

               “Oh, I know exactly what to make you two for dinner. I’ll be back!” Buddy said before he left to head back to the kitchen. At the same time Maisy came to the table with the champagne.

               “Here you are,” she said pouring it in to glasses. “You two have fun now.” Luke and Lorelai were finally left alone.

               They had dinner and read the back of the menu about the story of Sniffy the dog. They were having the time of their life. Buddy and Maisy saw the whole thing peaking from behind the kitchen door.

               “This is the first time I’ve seen Lucas this happy and laughing in a very long time,” Maisy commented to Buddy.

               “He better hold on to her. She’s just what he needs,” Buddy agreed.

               “Yes, she is.”

               It was around 10pm when both Luke and Lorelai noticed the time and the fact that they were now the only ones in the tavern.

               “I guess we missed our movie,” Luke noticed.

               “What are you talking about?” Lorelai asked.

               “I’m talking about the fact that it’s past 10 on a Monday night,” he said with a chuckle.

               “Wow, I guess time flies when you are having fun,” she smiled.

               “Yeah, I guess it does.”

               “So, should we go?” Lorelai asked.

               “We should, Buddy and Maisy probably want to get home soon,” he concurred.

               They both put on their coats and made there was out to the exit. Buddy and Maisy were waiting by the door.

               “Leaving so soon?” Buddy teased.

               “It’s past 10. You should have kicked us out an hour ago,” Luke pointed out.

               Buddy waved him off and then asked, “may I speak with you for a moment?” He directed towards Luke.

               “Yeah sure.” The two went into the kitchen, leaving the two woman behind.

               “How long have you been seeing Lorelai?” Buddy asked Luke when the door closed behind them.

               “Two days,” Luke replied honestly.

               “That’s it?” the older man didn’t believe it. “You’ve talked about her for years and you asked her out two days ago?”

               Luke shifted uncomfortably and admitted, “I didn’t really ask her out.”

               “So, she asked you then?”

               “Not exactly.”

               “Then how did it happen, son?” Buddy asked when Luke didn’t offer up any more information voluntarily.

               “Jess and Rory, Lorelai’s daughter, set us up on a blind date together because apparently we both were having a dry spell. Of course, I haven’t dated anyone since Rachel and she hadn’t gone out since her ex, Rory’s dad, came back a year ago and screwed things up. Thing went well last night so here we are now,” Luke explained.

              “I see. Do you care for her?” Buddy asked another question.

              “Yeah, I do,” Luke replied, with a smile on his face. “Buddy, why are you asking me all these questions?”

              “I am asking you all these questions because Maisy and I saw something today. Something we haven’t seen in years. When we saw you two sitting at that table laughing and enjoying yourselves, we saw your mother and father. Just the way you miled when Lorelai said something, was just like what your father used to do every time your mother said or did something. What I’m trying to say is, hold on to her. She’s special, I know it. Now let’s get back to our girls.” They walked out of the kitchen to find Maisy and Lorelai deep in conversation.

              “Sniffy was like our child, other than looking after Lucas and Liz, he was all we had,” Maisy told her.

              “I’ve always wanted a dog. I have a daughter but she’s big now. In about 6 months she’s going away to college. But the whole town including Luke won’t let me have a pet after what happened with my hamster. Apparently, I can’t be trusted,” Lorelai shared.

             “You were,” Luke entered the conversation, “you wouldn’t clean the cage and were stuffing it with tissues. No wonder it gave you evil looks.”

              “I swear it was evil! You weren’t there anyway!” Lorelai pointed out.

              “What about Rory’s chick?” Luke recalled.

              “Oh, you mean Stella, what about her?”

              “Rory leaves you alone with her for less than 2 hours and she gets loose. You had to call me to help you find it.”

              “You broke my lemon lamp in the process too,” Lorelai remembered.

              “Well at least will found her,” Luke said.

              Buddy and Maisy watched the two banter back and forth amused.

              “Yup that and Rory in her Donna Reed outfit. That was a quite a night.”

              “Yes, it was. We should go now. See you soon Bud. Bye Maisy,” Luke hugged them goodbye.

              “It was nice meeting you both.” Lorelai said as she hugged them both too.

              “Bye Lorelai, Lucas remember what I told you,” Buddy said.

              “I will. Bye.”

              “Come again soon,” Maisy said.

              They left the restaurant.

               “What did Buddy tell you?” Lorelai asked Luke out in the parking lot.

               “Ah, it was nothing really.”

               “Oh.”

               “He just told me to hang on to you because we reminded him of my parents,” he told her, honestly.

               “I see. Are you going to hang on to me?”

               “It’s a possibility.” He gave her kiss. Then he opened the truck door for her.

              “Today I felt like I was meeting your parents,” she told him after he got into the truck.

              “Ok. Is that good or bad?”

               “It’s good.”

               “Buddy and Maisy are like my parents now so it’s understandable.”

               “I wish they were my parents. When I bring you home to the Gilmore’s we better have an escape plan.”

               “That’ll be fun.”

               “Luke, what were your parents like?” Lorelai asked.

               “They were great. My mom died when I was 10. She was the best, looked after me and my sister at home. She’s the one that taught me how to cook. She, in a way, was just like you. Always spoke her mind, loved jokes, pretty blue eyes, and she loved town things. My dad on the other hand hated the damn things like me. He loved to build things hence the opening of the hardware store. He loved to fish and cared about my sister, my mother and I a lot. But then my mother died in a car accident, things were never the same again. My dad became a grump. Liz started doing her own things, drugs hanging out with guys, never coming home on time and I tried to take over what my mom did. I tried to take care of Liz, my dad, the hardware store, cooking, the clean you know. My dad and I became close. Then 10 years later we got the news that my dad had cancer. We tried all the treatment that was out there, but he died a year later. Life as I knew it became mundane until I laid eyes on you.”

               “Oh, Luke, that’s so sweet,” Lorelai told him in a spoke voice.

               “Well we’re here,” Luke said pulling into her driveway.

               He got out and opened her door and led her to the porch.

               “You know I have never told anyone about my parents before,” he admitted.

               “I’m proud to be the first. Why did you tell me and nobody else?” Lorelai asked, curiously.

               “I’m just comfortable with you. I can talk to you,” he simply answered.

               Lorelai smiled and said, “I had a great time tonight.”

               “We should do it again. Tomorrow, you free?” He offered.

               “Yeah I am. What do you have in mind?”

               “Oh, just something,” he told her with a sly smile appearing on his face. “Just wear something warm. I don’t want to hear complaints.”

               “Ok.” They both leaned in for a long good night kiss.

               “Goodnight,” he told her once they broke apart.

               “Goodnight.”

-X-

TBC


	8. Girl Meets Bat

** Chapter 8- Girl Meets Bat **

              The next morning Lorelai woke up in great, happy mood. She quickly got ready, got Rory up, eagerly told her about her night, and the two went to Luke’s for breakfast.

              The dinner was crowded for the breakfast rush.

              “Luke can you put this flyer on the window?” Taylor asked.

              “Taylor get that thing out of my sight,” Luke gruffly responded.

              “But- “

              “Taylor, get out of my diner now,” Luke interrupted him.

              “All I wanted you to do was put a flyer on the window,” Taylor argued.

              “We have been over this before. No, I will not but that flyer up on the window. Do you like arguing with me everything single time this town as a stupid festival, which is every other day!?!?”

              “You father would have put it up,” Taylor countered.

              “Taylor that’s it! Get out right now!”

              “But- “

              “OUT!” Taylor scurried out the door as Lorelai and Rory walk inside. “Thank god someone sane,” Luke greeted them.

              “I thought you thought I was crazy,” Lorelai questioned.

              “Who said I was referring to you? Rory’s the sane one,” Luke joked.

              “Why Luke, I’m appalled. I thought you like me?” She said, taking a seat at the counter.

              “I didn’t say I didn’t like you,” he said quietly so Miss Patty and Babette, who were eating breakfast in the corner didn’t hear. “All I said was Rory is the one sane person in the diner, hell even in this whole town,” he cleared up.

              “Thank you, Luke, I’m flattered,” Rory said as she flashed her mother a smile to incite jealousy.

              “You’re welcome. What can I get you two?” He asked.

               “Just coffee for me,” Rory said, “my bus will be here soon.”

               “Ok, and you?” he asked, referring to Lorelai.

               “I’ll have chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate chips on the side with a plate of bacon. Oh yeah, coffee, lots and lots of it,” Lorelai ordered.

               “Rory here’s your coffee,” he handed her a to-go cup.

               “Perfect timing Luke, my bus is here. Bye Mom.”

               “Bye Hun. So about tonight,” Lorelai said quietly to Luke.

               “What about tonight? You aren’t canceling, are you?” he asked, worried she was changing her mind.

               “Don’t worry, I’m not canceling. I just wanted to know where you are taking me tonight. So where are you taking me tonight?” She asked, as she gave him a pout.

               “I’m not going to tell you. You will have to wait.”

               “Aw, come on Luke, tell me! Where are we going? You didn’t even tell me last night where you were going to take me either,” she pointed out.

               “And you had a good time so you can trust me,” he pointed out back.

               “I know I can trust you, but I want to know,” she begged like a little girl. “The only clue you left me was to dress warm, which can only mean it’s outside.”

               “It is outside,” he nodded to confirm.

               “Thank you for repeating what I just said.”

               “Lorelai be patient. Patience is a virtue.”

               “Wow, you sounded just like Mr. Feeny. Do you have a sweater vest in your closet? All you have to do is put it on and everyone will think you are the next-door neighbor/principal. Oh, and you can call me Mr. Matthews. ‘Mr. Matthews?’, ‘Mr. Squirrels,’ ‘Eric?’, ‘Plays- With.’ Aw, if only that brilliant show didn’t have to end three years ago,” Lorelai reminisced.

               “What are you rambling about now?”

               “Never mind.”

               “Here’s your food.” He handed her a plate.

  **-X-**

 

-Evening-

               After trying hard and long to find the cutest warm outfit, Lorelai settled for a pair of Jeans, and a blue hoodie that said ‘Hot Mamma’ on it.

               She grabbed her coat and made her way downstairs. Right as soon as Lorelai got downstairs, the doorbell rang. Lorelai answered the door.

               “Hey,” she said giving him a kiss, “come on in. I’ll just be a sec.”

               “That’s ok, take you time,” Luke said as he stepped into the house.

               Lorelai grabbed her hat, gloves, and scarf all of which were light blue.

               “Rory, I’m leaving,” she yelled in the direction of Rory’s room.

               “Ok, have fun!” Rory yelled back.

               Lorelai turned to Luke, “Warm enough for you?” she asked spinning around to display her outfit.

              “I was only thinking about you and your wellbeing,” he told her.

               “Wow, I feel so special. Someone is taking care of me.” She gave him another kiss.

               “Mom don’t do anything dirty in the foyer,” Rory yelled from her room.

               “Don’t worry, we have some place _cool_ to go. Shall we go?”    

               “Yeah, we should.”

  **-X-**

                They were fifteen minutes into the drive when Luke finally pulled into the destination of their date.

               “Luke we are at the park. What are we doing here in the middle of winter?” Lorelai asked.

               Luke smiled to himself and said, “You’ll see in a sec.”

              He got out of the car and walked over to open the door for them. After a short walk through the park, Lorelai saw her evening’s date venue.

               “The batting cages, Luke is this a joke?” Lorelai laughed.

               “No, it’s not a joke. I promise you will have fun,” he told her.

               “Ok, I’m trusting you. The closest I’ve gotten to sports is watching _A_ _League of Their Own_.

               They walked over the entrance of the batting cage to pay and get a bat.

               “Ok, so the game where you go to a batting cage to practice is football?” Lorelai asked, kidding.

               “No, but you got the ball part right. It’s baseball,” he cleared up.

               “I see. So why did you bring me here?” she questioned, confused.

               “I guess you don’t remember,” he said

               “Remember what?”

               “About over a year ago, you were helping me buy an apartment for me and Jess. You were started going on about my tiny bed and stuff. But before that you were going on about how I’ll take some girl on the ‘Ultimate Luke Danes’ Date’: a trip to the batting cages and a juice bar.”

               “Oh yeah, that.”

               “So that’s what we are doing tonight.”

               “Wow, I do babble a lot. I don’t even remember clearly,” she said, touched that he remembered.

               “I kept the horoscope, didn’t I?” Luke pointed out.

               “Yeah, you did. Come show me how to play baseball,” she grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the direction of the cage.

               “I can’t show you how to play the whole game, but I can show you how to bat.”

               “Are you going to try and impress me?” Lorelai flirted.

               They found an empty cage and Luke went first, instructing Lorelai to stand outside. Luke inserted a coin in the meter and baseball came shooting at him. He was able to hit all them, a few even with a huge cracking sound.  

               “Wow! You are good!” Lorelai cheered.

               “It was a god given talent,” Luke blushed at her compliment.

               “You used to play, didn’t you? For Stars Hollow High?”

               “Yeah I did, even got some scholarships.”

               “Really? I thought you didn’t go to college,” Lorelai told him

               “I didn’t.”

               “Why didn’t take any of them?”

               “I just couldn’t leave, with my dad, Liz and Jess. It was impossible.”

               “Do you regret it?” she asked.

               “Nope, I have a good life,” he told her.

               “I guess you do. So, I guess we have that in common. No college.”

               “Yeah, we do, but you have Rory, so it isn’t that bad, right?”

               Lorelai nodded and said, “she was the greatest thing that has happened to me. I just wish I pleased my parents, which would have meant getting married. I couldn’t get married, I was sixteen. I was supposed to go Yale. My father went there; my grandmother went there, and so on. I left the generation gap.”

               “That’s ok. Your parents are proud of you no matter what you did or do now,” he assured her.

               “Your parents might have been like that, but not Emily Richard.”

               “They’ll come around,” he pulled her into a hug. “You’re up,” he pulled her into the cage.

               Lorelai took the bat and wait for the ball to come out of the machine. When it did, she swung really hard, but she missed and then ball hit the ground.

               “You’ll get it next time,” Luke encouraged.

               Lorelai swung again, but this time the bat fell out of her hand.

              “Luke, I think I need a little help,” Lorelai admitted.

               “You think you need a _little_ help?”

               “Ok, I know I need a lot help,” she corrected.

               Luke went over to her, standing directly behind her.

               “Here, hold the bat like this,” he placed his hand on top of hers. “Then you have to look at the machine over there. Wait for the ball to come out.” Lorelai could feel his breath on her neck. “Here it comes, keep your eye on the ball, and…. Swing!” She swung the bat and it came in contact with the ball, which went back over to where the machine was.

               “Oh my god! I did it! Luke, I hit the ball! Gilmore’s do have athletic ability!” she exclaimed while jumping excitedly.

               “Yes, you did do it.”

**-X-**

               After the batting cages, they went over to the juice bar/restaurant to grab a bit to eat.  Lorelai had a burger, and Luke had a turkey burger.

 -Luke’s Truck-

               On the way back home, Lorelai told Luke, “I had a great time today. Who knew, baseball could be so much fun.”

               “Well you weren’t exactly playing baseball you know,” he pointed out.

               “I know. I just like saying that. It sounds like I played a sport.”

               “Ok, then.”

               “You know Valentine’s Day is coming up,” Lorelai said, trying to hint at something.

               “Yeah, I know, it’s on Friday,” he confirmed that he was fully aware.

               “Wow, Luke even knows the date.”

               “Don’t you have Friday night Dinner with your parents?” Luke asked.

               “Way, to kill the mood Danes. Crap I do have dinner,” Lorelai realized.

               “So that would mean we can’t make plans.”

               “Curse my mother and her dumb rules. Maybe I can get out it. I’m sure Rory and Jess also want to go out. And my mom likes Rory. That might help me get out it. Luke, keep Friday open,” Lorelai told him.

               “Like I was going to do anything.”

               “Please, I know you had a while mopping event planned for after you close the diner early,” she mocked.

               When they reached Lorelai’s house, she said, “I’ll call you about Valentine’s. I ‘m going to have to work magic baby!”

               “Looking forward to it,” he told her.

                They both got out of the car and walk up the porch steps.

               “Free tomorrow?” Luke anxiously asked.

               “Sorry, I have to work late tomorrow. I’ll make it up to you,” Lorelai replied as she pressed her lips against his.

               “Dirty,” Luke said and then kissed her.

               “You’ve been around me way too long,” she said referring to the ‘dirty’ and the couple leaned in to share a third kiss.

**-X-**

**TBC**


	9. Mrs. Backfire

** Chapter 9- Mrs. Backfire **

               The next day was a regular old day. The inn was busy will love stricken people, even Michel had found love. If only Lorelai didn’t have to work tonight, she could have been with Luke, but bills needed to be paid and her child needed to be feed. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself, all she could think about was Luke. Lorelai once again told Sookie about their date and how he remembered the whole batting cage and juice bar date story. And once again Sookie had to swear not to tell anyone, not even Jackson about her relationship for the time being.

               It was around lunch time when Lorelai realized that she needed to get out of dinner tomorrow night with her parents. She decided to wait till Rory got home to call her mother.

               “Hey mom,” Rory called to Lorelai, while walking up to the Independence Inn’s front desk.

               “Hey sweetie, how was school?” She asked her.

               “School was great. I can’t believe this is my last year at Chilton.”

               “Yeah, the sooner you graduate the sooner we are free from Ava and Adolf. Speaking of Ava and Adolf, got any plans with Jess for Valentine’s?” Lorelai asked.

               “No, I don’t because it’s on Friday night,” Rory pointed out.

               “How about we play hooky tomorrow so we can have our own fun?” Lorelai suggested.

               “Mom, Grandma won’t let us skip tomorrow no matter what.”

               “I can try, can’t I. Plus, I’m blowing off Luke today because I have to work. I had to be with him or else, I’ll die,” she dramatically told her.

               “Aww that’s so cute. You can’t live without him. My mommy is in love with Luke!” Rory said, while pinching Lorelai’s cheeks and speaking in a baby voice.

               “Do you want to do something with Jess tomorrow, or should I just get myself out of dinner?”

               “I want no part of this,” Rory said.

               Lorelai picked up the phone and dial a number she knew very well.

               “Gilmore residence,” a maid picked up.

               “Um hi, may I speak with Emily? This is her daughter.”

               “One moment please,” she was put on hold.

               Emily came on the phone a couple minutes later. “Lorelai?” Emily answered.

               “Hey mom, how are you?” Lorelai asked, politely.

              “I’m fine Lorelai, thank you for asking,” Emily replied just as politely, waiting for the reason that her daughter would voluntarily call her.

               “You’re welcome.”

               “So, you need anything, or did you just call for that?”

               “I need to ask you a favor?” Lorelai finally said after a few silent moments.

               “Sure, what is it?”

               “You know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, right?” she began.

               “Yes, I do believe that that Hallmark holiday is tomorrow.”

               “And tomorrow is Friday. So, I was wondering, if there was any chance that dinner could be canceled tomorrow?”

              “For what reason would you want to get out spending an evening with your family?” Emily countered.

               “Um, because Rory and I have a date with our boyfriends since tomorrow is the romantic holiday,” Lorelai honestly answered.

               It was quiet on the line for a few seconds and then Emily said, “Ok, I’ll let you off tomorrow, but there is one condition.”

               “Name it,” Lorelai said, impatiently.

               “You two will bring your boyfriends over to dinner next week.” The line went quiet again. Clearly, her head was somewhere up in cloud nine because she had just admitted to her mother that she had a boyfriend. And Emily didn’t wait to use that valuable information.

               “Deal.” Lorelai gave in without a fight. “They will be there beside us at dinner next week.”

               “Ok, great, see you then,” Emily said with a pleased smiled appearing on her face.

               “We will see you then,” Lorelai said pleasantly while her face winced.

               “Bye, Lorelai,” they both hung up the phone.

               “So, what’s the verdict?” Rory asked, after Lorelai was off the phone.

               “We are off the hook tomorrow.”

               “That’s great mom!”

               “But Jess and Luke have to come with us to dinner in hell next week,” Lorelai told her.

               “What?” Rory’s eyes bugged out wide.

               “Emily wants to meet the men that have won our hearts in exchange for letting us off dinner tomorrow,” she explained.

               “I guess that’s ok.”

               “It has to be ok. I already agreed to it.”

               “Well, I better go break it to Jess,” Rory said, walking toward the kitchen door.

               “See you tonight?”

               “Yeah kid, tonight. Bye Hun.”

               “Bye mom,” Rory said before she left the inn.

               Lorelai picked up the phone again and dialed a number.

               “Luke’s.”

               “Oh, she’s good!” Lorelai exclaimed in the phone.

               “Who is this?” Luke asked.

               “What do you mean who is this? It’s Lorelai, who else would call you complaining?”

               “Complaining about what?” Luke asked, still lost.

               “Emily that’s who! Boy she’s good.”

               “I take it you couldn’t get out of dinner tomorrow,” he attempted to put the pieces together.

               “Oh no, no, no, I was able to get out of dinner, but Emily, of course, had one condition.”

               “And what is that?”

               “Before I tell you, I’m going to say I’m so sorry! I’m really really really really sorry,” she pleaded.

               Luke sighed before he asked, “what is it that you have to be really really really really sorry for?”

               “You have to come to Friday night dinner next week,” Lorelai said quickly.

               “That’s it?”

               “What do you mean ‘that’s it?’! It’s going to be an evening in hell. Might as well go straight to hell because I’m telling you, there is no difference.”

               “Listen, if I want to be with you, meeting the parents comes with that. I really don’t mind. It was going to happen sooner or later,” he explained.

               “Oh yeah, she wants to meet Jess too,” Lorelai added.

               “What?! Why Jess?” Alarm bells rang in his head.

               “Because he is dating my daughter, AKA Emily’s perfect little granddaughter.”

               “Is that such a good idea?” Luke’s brow furrowed.

               “I don’t know. Is having Emily Gilmore tag along tomorrow instead the alternative? No. So we will put Jess in a monkey suit and feed him bananas if he can go the entire Friday night dinner without a sarcastic comment,” Lorelai proposed.

               “Fine, we’ll be there.”

               “Great, because even if you said you wouldn’t come, I’ll still drag you over there. I’m warning you now, be prepared for ‘Lorelai, how could you go out with that filthy dinner owner. I know you like him, and you eat at his place every day but with your breeding, you can do better.’ And then for Rory she’ll tell me, ‘Lorelai, how could you let your daughter go out with that punk?’”

              “Great impression of your mother,” Luke complemented knowing it would annoy her.

              She scowled at the phone. “Thank you, I’ve been practicing,” she responded.

              “I can tell. You still have to work tonight?”

              “Yup, I still have to work tonight. But remember you have tomorrow, and then next and the next day,” she reminded him.

              “I like the thought of that,” he said with a smile.

              “Well, you can thank me later. Dirty, I know.” They both let a laugh out.  “I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.”

              “Ok, when will you be home tonight? I can call you about tomorrow’s details.”

              “Around 9, I hope.”

              “Ok, talk to you then. Bye.”

              “Bye.”

-Diner-

              Luke hung up the phone. Miss Patty sat in the corner of the diner watching Luke while he was on the phone.

              ‘ _Dinner, tomorrow night, meeting the parents, really sorry? Luke smiling? Who is this mystery woman? I got to call Babette_!’ Miss Patty thought.

**-X-**

 -That Evening-

               The phone rang just as Lorelai put away more like threw away her dinner. She had just got home about 30 minutes ago.

               “Hello?” She answered.

               “Hey,” she smiled hearing Luke’s voice.

               “Hey Luke.”

               “How was work?” he asked.

               “Work was work. I got home a half hour ago. I just ate some leftovers from Al’s. How about you, how’s the diner?”

               “Still standing, thank god.”

               She giggled and said, “That’s good to hear.”

               “So about tomorrow- “

               “Hmm, what is this tomorrow you speak of?” she joked.

               “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.”

               “Oh, that, but what will I be doing tomorrow?” she asked flirtatiously.

               “You will come to the diner at eight, and a wonderful man will cook you a wonderful dinner,” he told her.

               “I like that idea.”

               “Great! See you then?”

               “Or before, you do have the coffee,” she reminded him.

               “That’s right. I do have the coffee.”

  

**-X-**


	10. The Game of Love

** Chapter 10- The Game of Love **

               It was seven o’clock already the next day. Lorelai quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom to look for something to wear for her date that night. She shuffled around her closet looking for a dress that Luke hadn’t seen her in. That was really tough, considering that fact that Lorelai was at Luke’s every day and he had seen her in everything she wore. Apparently, Michel was “sick” that morning and she didn’t have time she had plan to go shopping in the afternoon because she had to work.

               After a half an hour of searching later, Lorelai settled for a red knee-length halter top dress. She wore matching red pumps along with a silver snowflake necklace and earrings. She applied her makeup and did her hair. In the record time of 25 minutes, Lorelai was ready to go.

               She picked up her purse and walked to Luke’s. When she got there, she saw the ‘closed’ sign up with the blinds closed. She twisted the doorknob to see if the door was open. It opened with no resistance and she walked inside.

               “Luke?” She called out when she didn’t see Luke.  In the center of the diner she saw a table for two with a white tablecloth on it, set with a burning candle in the middle and glasses of wine poured out. Candles were lit around the remaining tables and the counter. “Oh my,” she whispered to herself.

               Luke came out of the kitchen wearing black slacks and a blue dress shirt. He smiled when he saw her surveying the room. He walked over to her, snaked an arm around her and whispered in her ear, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He gave her a kiss.

               “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she replied, and returned the kiss. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

               “You like it?” he asked with a slight hint of nervousness in his voice.

               “Yes, I like,” she smiled.

               He led her over to the table. “Your seat, Miss Gilmore **.** ” He pulled out her chair and she sat down.

               “Why, thank you.”

               “I’ll be back in a second,” Luke told her and disappeared to the kitchen again.

               A minute later, he came out again with two plates full of food. “Dinner is served.”

**-X-**

-Meanwhile-

               Rory and Jess went to a restaurant just outside of Stars Hollow.

               “Jess, you didn’t have to make reservations,” Rory told him.

               “I know, but I wanted to. Besides, you deserve it,” he told her.

               “Well, thank you.” They leaned in for a kiss before walking inside the restaurant.

               “You know, Mom and Luke have gone out together every day this week except yesterday,” Rory pointed out to Jess.

               “Yeah, and then Luke would come home with a goofy grin on his face.”

               “Same with my mom. We did a good thing meddling the way we did, and they have you to thank for that. It was all your idea.”                      

               “Yeah, but you helped. I couldn’t have done it without you. Come on, let’s eat and maybe after there may be a gift or something involved,” Jess previewed for her.

**-X-**

              An hour later, Luke and Lorelai were eating dessert, their chairs closer together now.  Luke had made a silk chocolate pie. Lorelai never thought Luke would eat something as unhealthy as a pie made of chocolate, but for one night and one night only, Luke ate little tiny bits that Lorelai would feed him.

               “I still can’t believe you are eating that,” Lorelai said, her mouth full of pie.

               “I can always stop,” he teasingly threatened.  

               “No, I like this chocolate pie-eating Luke. Now all I have to do is convince you do drink coffee,” she joked.

               “Now,  _that_  is never going to happen. Here, I got something for you.” He got up and went behind the counter to take out a little box the size of the palm of his hands. “Here.” He handed it to Lorelai. She opened the box and saw a white gold necklace with matching earrings.

               “Aww, Luke, you shouldn’t have. This is too much. I can’t accept this.”

               “No, Lorelai, I want you to have it. It was…it was my mother’s. She gave it to my dad, and he left it for me to give to someone special. I want you to be that ‘someone special’,” he told her, taking her hand in his.

               “It’s beautiful. Are you sure you want  _me_  to have it?”

               “Yes, I’m sure.”

               “Well, in that case…” Lorelai pressed a sweet kiss against Luke’s lip. “Thank you.”

               “You’re welcome. Do you want to come upstairs for some coffee?” he asked her.

               Lorelai’s eyes widen and she asked to confirm, “You have coffee upstairs?”

               “I do now,” he told her.

               “Is it for me?” she excitedly asked.

               “Of, course. Come on,” Luke blew out all the candles and led Lorelai upstairs.

               As soon as they reached the inside of his apartment, Lorelai kissed him hard. They broke apart a few seconds later.

               “How badly do you want that coffee?” he asked her.

               “Hmm, not that bad.” They picked up where they left off and Luke led Lorelai to his bed.

  **-X-**

              Jess had dropped Rory off at home. He walked into the dark diner and saw the burnt-out candles. He put them away so that Caesar he wouldn’t have to clean them up in the morning when he opened.

               He made his way upstairs to the apartment. He stopped at the door and heard moaning and faint kissing noises. He tried to look through the window and saw a red dress on the floor.

               “Aww jeez,” Jess said to himself, and he went back downstairs. He scribbled a note and left it outside the apartment door.

  **-X-**

              It was about 10:15. Rory was getting ready to go to bed when she heard the doorbell ring. She went downstairs to answer the door.

               “Jess, what are you doing here?” She asked.

               “So, I got back to the diner after dropping you off, I went upstairs, and right when I’m about to open the door, I heard some stuff I wish I’d never heard,” Jess explained. “I looked through the window, and guess what I see? A red dress on the floor.”

               “Oh no,” Rory gasped, remembering the red dress her mother had been wearing earlier that night. “Mom and Luke were having- you know...”

               “Yup. Well, I need a place to crash because I’m not going to get to go home anytime soon,” Jess told her.                                             

               “Oh, I see. You can stay here. How do you feel about Mr. Couch over there?”

               “I’ll take it. As long as I’m far, far away from the diner, I’m fine. I think I’m scarred for life.”

               Rory giggled. “Well, at least they weren’t here.”

**-X-**


End file.
